1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to industrial furnaces used for example in heat treatment processing of material. More particularly, this invention relates to such furnaces employing ceramic fiber insulation in the form of lightweight modules, and specifically is directed to means for securing such ceramic insulation modules to the roof of a furnace.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of ceramic fiber modules to insulate high-temperature industrial furnaces is advantageous for various reasons, especially because such construction affords significant savings in energy compared to the more conventional fire brick typically used for furnace linings. U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,444, issued to W. K. Hesse et al, discloses one type of lightweight ceramic module, and describes a vacuum process for molding such a module from a liquid suspension of an inorganic refractory fibrous material. Such modules may have an electrical heating element embedded in situ during the forming process. Alternatively, the modules may be used solely for insulation purposes, as in oil or gas fired furnaces.
Such lightweight ceramic insulation modules do not possess great mechanical strength. For that reason, difficulties have been encountered in securing the modules in place in a furnace. This is particularly true where it has been desired to suspend the modules from a furnace roof, because the entire weight of the module, including any embedded heater elements or the like, must be borne by the module support arrangement. The modules must be held securely in place during many years of use at high furnace temperatures, such as 2000.degree. F. and above.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide improved means for mounting lightweight ceramic modules to the roof of an industrial furnace. A more specific object of the invention is to provide module support means which are capable of reliably supporting the entire weight of a module from the roof of a furnace, during long periods of high temperature conditions in the furnace. Other objects, aspects and advantages of this invention will in part be pointed out in, and in part apparent from, the following description considered together with the accompanying drawings.